Once upon a musical time, Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) was an operatic superstar. His name was paired with that of Giacomo Puccini as the greatest opera composers of their time, that is, the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But while today Puccini’s operas are staged every year around the world—“La Bohème,” “Madame Butterfly,” and “Tosca” as representative titles—and while even non-operagoers are familiar with the strains of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” as sung by tenor Luciano Pavarotti and others, Mascagni’s music has largely disappeared.
Mascagni composed 15 operas, one operetta, many orchestral works, and songs for voice and piano. His operas were premiered at major venues of the opera world, such as La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice, Italy. Vanity Fair magazine made him the subject of one of its famous caricatures in 1912 in connection with the premiere of his opera, “Isabeau.” On Sept. 16, 1923, Time magazine put Mascagni on its cover to promote his new opera, “Visione Lirica.” But you haven’t heard of either opera, have you?
‘Intermezzo From Cavalleria Rusticana’
Mascagni lived a long life filled with celebrated successes, and the only thing he is widely known for in 2025 is his first opera: a short, one-act piece he composed in 1890 at age 27, “Cavalleria Rusticana.”He is still better known for a three-minute, orchestral excerpt from that opera labeled “Intermezzo From Cavalleria Rusticana.” Two other Mascagni operas, “L’amico Fritz” (1891) and “Iris” (1898), still enjoy occasional productions in the composer’s native Italy.
Internationally, however, his greatest claim to fame by far is “Cavalleria,” and in particular the Intermezzo from it, literally the shortest piece of music in the symphonic catalog. Fame, it seems, is fickle.
To be sure, the little Intermezzo is a gem, a quiet place in the midst of the almost clichéd erotic turmoil of the plot: Turiddu, a young peasant, has seduced and then abandoned Santuzza in favor of Lola, who is married to Alfio.
Yet for a moment in the middle of the opera, it is Easter Sunday, peaceful and serene. The orchestration is strings-heavy, with only light, supporting touches from woodwinds, horns, and harp. The first minute-and-a-half or so are a calm meditation, and then at 1:36 in the video above, we hear recalled a hymn that has just been sung in an earlier scene. Even without words, the tune soars heavenward.
The hymn melody from the “Intermezzo” became so famous that two major films, “Raging Bull” and “Godfather III,” used it prominently in their soundtracks. More recently, some opera singers have begun singing the “Ave Maria” to its strains.
